What's Not: Adhesive pad holding the iPad 2 in place might turn some people off.

Reviewed by Tong Zhang

We looked at TORU Saffiano Booklet iPhone 4S case from RJR Fashion, a US case maker with a manufacturer plant in South Korea. They also make a variety of iPad 2 cases in faux leather but in very cool patterns and textures, snake, anaconda and leopard, resembling real leathers. The LUXI Epi cases for the iPad 2 have more subtle colors but come in a neat texture. The LUXI Epi case comes in four color choices: khaki, brown, beige and black.

Design

The TORU LUXI Epi iPad 2 case is a slim book style case. It covers the front and back of the iPad 2 like a book cover, and doesn't cover the top, bottom and right sides. As with most Toru cases, the LUXI Epi case is made with bicast faux leather in epi patterns. These patterns aren't prints, they have actual texture which not only looks unique but also helps with handling the tablet better. The exterior has a thin layer of padding on top of sturdy inserts and it feels nice to hold. The interior lines with "T" shaped microsuede like soft material, and it won't scratch your iPad 2's surface while in the case. The front cover breaks into three foldable strips and has magnets build-in, and it works as the Apple SmartCover for auto wake/sleep and as a stand.

As with the TORU Saffiano case, the LUXI Epic case for iPad 2 uses an adhesive pad on the back to hold the iPad 2 in place. The advantage of this design is to keep the case slim and light, and leave all the buttons and ports on the tablet open. The adhesive pad is quite large and strong, and whence you've attached the iPad 2 to the adhesive pad, your tablet won't fall off of the pad. The adhesive doesn't leave any goo behind when you take the iPad 2 off, and it's reusable though it does lose strength with more use. On the Saffiano iPhone 4S case we were a bit worried about the pressure it puts on the glass when we peel the iPhone off the pad, but the iPad 2's back is sturdier and gives us less worry about the pressure.

Features

As the TORU LUXI Epi case comes in book cover style, it leaves all the side buttons and ports open. It only needs one cutout on the back to give you access to the rear camera. And since it's slim, you can actually fold back the front cover, and use some docking stations or audio accessories that give you reasonably generous space for the iPad 2.

Another great feature on the LUXI Epic case is the built-in magnetic cover. It works just like the Apple SmartCover that can automatically wake up the iPad 2 when you open it, and shuts off the display when you close it. The front cover also doubles as a built-in stand and can put your iPad 2 in either an upright angle for media viewing or a flatter angle for typing; both positions are in landscape mode.

Conclusion

We can see that not everyone wants to use adhesive on the back of their iPad 2 even without any sign of residue left behind, but if you don't mind that, the TORU LUXI Epi case is very slim and sturdy. It looks elegant for office and home environment, and is very functional. The faux leather pattern looks unique and expensive, but the price is actually quite affordable. We like that the case comes in different color options and the clean and nice build. If the professional solid colors don't float your boat, check out the animal skin patterns in TORU collection.